January 2021: Volunteer of the Month

After retiring to Greenville in 2020, Dave Gerhard looked for places to volunteer and came across Project Host. Dave works in the Soup Kitchen weekly, and this month he earned our special thanks by signing up for extra slots when he saw numbers were low and helping Chef Marianne in our culinary kitchen. We asked Dave what it is about Project Host that’s kept him coming back since September.

What made you decide to come volunteer your time at Project Host?

I was actually looking for some volunteer work and searched online and found the Project Host website. I read about the good things done there and it had a very easy volunteer signup link, so I decided to give it a try. I had always believed the way to understand and help problems such as hunger was for individuals or groups to volunteer their time and talents in addition to making monetary donations.

What motivates you to come and spend your time at Project Host?

Since I started volunteering at Project Host, what I really think is great is that it is not just a soup kitchen. The teaching of people in need to be able to work in food service, meals for children, the food truck, etc. are all vital pieces to help break the cycle of hunger.

What's your relationship to our guests?

Covid makes it difficult to interact much with the guests, which is a shame, but I do enjoy seeing them when they come by to pick up their food. Meeting them and seeing the variety of people coming in helps to break the stereotypes society has of those who lack the resources to have enough decent food. I enjoy handing out the food to guests, and I enjoy helping to make the food that will be served to them. It is great that Greenville has a place like Project Host with lots of good volunteers and a really wonderful and talented staff.